1. The face transplant

A volunteer firefighter incurred horrendous and life-changing third degree burns to his entire face and scalp whilst he attempted to rescue a woman from a house fire. Incredibly, American surgeons performed a first-of-its-kind, 26-hour operation to give him a new face (including scalp, ears and eyelids) from a donor who died in a cycling accident. They not only matched his tissue type but also took into account his hair colour and skin tone in choosing the donor. While transplant medicine has been developing since 1954 (when the first kidney transplant was performed) the closest we've come to this kind of surgery was a partial face transplant, in 2005.

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2. The bionic penis

Mohammed Abad was just six years old when he was dragged under a car for 600 yards, resulting in his genitals being ripped from his body. He is now 43 and has had 100 operations to reconstruct his genitals. But in 2015 he had what has been dubbed 'the bionic penis'. I met Mohammed on This Morning on ITV and he showed me an example of the technology that has been used to give him a fully functioning penis. Thanks to medical advances, he is now able to stand at a urinal to pass urine and can achieve an erection. This might be something most men take for granted but given the horrific injuries at just six years of age and the impact this must have had on him growing up, this is an amazing medical achievement.

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3. Gene editing

I've written about gene editing here before, as it's one of the most exciting areas of medical development today. Last year saw scientists successfully correct errors in DNA in human embryos, which could lead to a cure for some inherited conditions. Gene editing has also been used to make pig organs suitable for human transplant and to make mosquitoes resistant to malaria – a condition that causes nearly half a million deaths globally each year. It is a rapidly developing field and one that I will watch with interest this year and in years to come. 2015 was also the year when the world's top genetic scientists met to discuss the ethics of such a technique. It was decided that it would be "irresponsible" to create genetically altered humans, which could ultimately lead to the production of the "designer baby", but that research involving embryos should continue.

4. Frozen fertility

We have been able to freeze sperm samples from men about to undergo radio or chemotherapy (which would damage sperm production) for some time, and many men have been able to use this technique to father their own children when rendered infertile. But in 2015 we saw a new breakthrough which actually began back in 2001, when a 13-year-old girl had ovarian tissue frozen before starting treatment that would prevent her ovaries from producing eggs. Four years ago that tissue was grafted back into the woman now in her mid-20s, and in 2015 she gave birth to a baby boy. There is already talk of using a similar technique to freeze testicular tissue in prepubescent boys.

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5. A cure for cancer?

The advent of chemotherapy in the 1940s made a huge impact on cancer survival rates, and in recent years various new forms of chemotherapy have been added to our armoury. But in 2015, research into a new type of drug that could herald the biggest breakthrough in decades began. A form of immunotherapy has been developed to stop cancer cells from hiding from our natural defense system and early results are very promising. Two large trials showed a doubling in survival rates for lung cancer and in some patients with terminal cancer, this treatment rendered them cancer free! This treatment is called oncolytic virus therapy and the Food and Drug Administration have approved the first of these drugs to treat the most aggressive form of skin cancer – melanoma. Other therapies are currently undergoing clinical trials, so it may be several years before they are routinely available. But this is a hugely exciting breakthrough I look forward to watching develop.

The materials in this web site are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. The web site does not have answers to all problems. Answers to specific problems may not apply to everyone. If you notice medical symptoms or feel ill, you should consult your doctor - for further information see our Terms and conditions.

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